Jan. 21, 2006
MILWAUKEE, Wis. -
After a second full day of competition the Illinois State swimming and diving team finished third in the Bill Ritter Invitational with a final score of 878 points. They followed first place Wisconsin-Milwaukee(985.5), second place finishers Wisconsin-Green Bay(971.5), and Illinois-Chicago anchored the Invitational with a fourth place finish(620). The competition was solid from all four teams for the two-day Invite.
Head coach Steve Paska was pleased with the way the team performed over the past two days.
"Today was pretty solid day of competition," said Paska. "It was very competitive and there were some close races. I was very pleased with the way our team came out and with how they were ready to compete,"
Katie Finan and Rebekah Layman had solid performances in the 400-yard individual medley. Brandy Peak placed first in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:00.07. She also placed second in the 200-yard butterfly. The distance swimmers, Christine Steinbach, Jennifer Klicka and Emily Richardson all had solid swims in the 1650-yard freestyle. Monique Witkowski earned a season best in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:12.64.
Brittany Armstrong also contributed to the team by placing second in the 100-yard breaststroke. Tracy Deyell swam off events due to a shoulder injury preventing her from swimming her normal events. Even though injured, she still had an impressive swim in the 200-yard breaststroke placing third. The Redbirds have been dealing with some ailments and are looking to get healthy for their upcoming meets.
"We need to keep our team healthy," said Paska. "At this point in the season every team is dealing with some sort of injuries or illness. We are just a little under the weather, and we are striving to get better. We are just trying to put it all together so we can perform our best in conference."
The `Birds will be returning home for a week of practice and preparation for their upcoming meet that they will be hosting at Horton Pool on Saturday, January 28 at 11 a.m. against Wisconsin-Green Bay.
